Passively Q-switching an all polarization-maintaining erbium-doped fiber laser with a rhenium disulfide (ReS2) saturable absorber

Mahmoud Muhanad Fadhel; Abdulwahhab Essa Hamzah; Norazreen Abd Aziz; Mohd Saiful Dzulkefly Zan; Norhana Arsad

doi:10.1016/j.heliyon.2023.e20678

Passively Q-switching an all polarization-maintaining erbium-doped fiber laser with a rhenium disulfide (ReS₂) saturable absorber

Heliyon. 2023 Oct 5;9(10):e20678. doi: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2023.e20678. eCollection 2023 Oct.

Authors

Mahmoud Muhanad Fadhel¹, Abdulwahhab Essa Hamzah¹, Norazreen Abd Aziz¹, Mohd Saiful Dzulkefly Zan¹, Norhana Arsad¹

Affiliation

¹ Department of Electrical, Electronic and Systems Engineering, Faculty of Engineering and Built Environment, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM), Bangi, 43600, Selangor, Malaysia.

Abstract

This study demonstrates a linearly polarized Er-doped fiber laser system featuring an all-polarization-maintaining (all-PM) architecture. Short pulses were generated by Q-switching operation based on drop-casting rhenium disulfide (ReS₂) saturable absorber (SA) onto a fiber connector placed inside the laser cavity. The Q-switching operation of the laser was able to self-start at a low (23 mW) threshold power of the pump and without the need to use a polarization controller. The proposed laser was able to produce stable pulses with a center wavelength and 3-dB bandwidth of 1558.4 nm and 0.13 nm, respectively. The shortest pulse duration measured (2.8 μs) was achieved at a repetition rate of 37.6 kHz while the highest average output power and pulse energy were 2.2 mW and 76.5 nJ, respectively. Furthermore, as the cavity of the laser was designed to be all-PM the laser that it produced was linearly polarized and had a degree of polarization (DOP) at the level of 94.5 % and 40 dB polarization extinction ratio (PER). Therefore, the proposed laser is a suitable light source for optical applications in environments that are complex.

Keywords: Fiber laser; Polarization maintaining; Q-switching; Rhenium disulfide; Saturable absorber.